More Swastikas, Anti-Semitic Graffiti Found in Nassau

Nassau County police are investigating three separate incidents in which swastikas were discovered over the last three days, including yet another report of anti-Semitic imagery at Nassau Community College.

On Friday, police were alerted to the college’s East Garden City campus after a professor said he found multiple swastikas drawn in the men’s bathroom of the “G” building. That same day, officers responded to a 7-Eleven in Merrick after a customer observed anti-Semitic graffiti written on the store’s exterior wall. Police did not specify what the message contained. Finally, cops were called to a home in Mineola on Saturday for a complaint of five swastikas etched in the snow.

The Third Precinct is investigating all three incidents as bias crimes. The discoveries come as members of the Jewish community and other minority groups have expressed concern over the apparent rise of hate crimes since the Nov. 8 presidential election.

In response, community groups have convened special gatherings of faith groups, elected officials and law enforcement to discuss varying ideas—from better education to cops being more proactive—to address the spate of crimes.

Only a few of the hateful messages have explicitly mentioned President-elect Donald Trump himself or his campaign slogan, though it’s still unclear of the anti-Semitic messaging is in response to the businessman’s ascension to the White House.

In a statement released 10 days ago when the unsettling discoveries were first reported to the public, NCC President Hubert Keen said the school has “zero tolerance for any and all kinds of hate speech,” adding that such actions are “unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Mineola has also been the scene of anti-Jewish graffiti. Nassau police said it is investigating a hate crime in Mineola in which “Make America White Again”—a play on Trump’s oft-repeated slogan—as well as a racial slur and swastikas were found spray-painted on a Mineola sidewalk earlier this month.

Rashed Mian has been covering local news for the Long Island Press since 2011. He graduated from Hofstra University in 2010 where he studied print journalism. Rashed, the staff's multimedia reporter, covers daily news for the web, shoots/edits feature videos and writes about civil liberties. He loves Afghan food and sports. Rashed is also a caffeine freak. Email: rmian@longislandpress.com. Twitter: rashedmian